Wrench



June 20, 1939.v

J GENARD WRENCH Filed April 20, 1938 frz Vezzfof' Patented June 20, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370O. G. 757) This invention described herein may be manufactured and usedby or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the paymentto me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to wrenches, but more particularly to awrench provided with a gripping and releasing mechanism.

One object of the invention is to provide a wrench which will engage anddisengage a nut or bolt without changing the setting with respect to thespread of its jaws.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wrench which can be,used in small spaces where a complete rotation of its handle isimpossible.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a wrench of the aboveindicated character, which is simple and substantial in construction,can be manufactured economically and will be thoroughly efficient andpractical in use.

Other objects of the invention consist of certain novel details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter shown in thedrawing, described in the specication and more particularly defined inthe accompanying claims.

In the description which follows reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing in which the various parts are indicated bysuitable reference characters and in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevationof a monkey wrench 30 provided with a hingeably mounted releasing jaw;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the wrench illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the jaw carriage illustrated in Fig. 1,with movable jaw and sliding 35 lugs but with spring removed; p

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of jaw carriage, withmovable jaw and sliding lugs, but with releasing spring and screw memberremoved;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the carriage assembly as illustrated inFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a non-adjustable hand Wrench provided witha hingeably mounted releasing jaw; and

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the wrench shown in Fig. 6.

Briefly stated, the invention relates toa wrench construction in whichthe jaws of the wrench may be instantaneously released from and returned50 to their position of engagement, with the nut or other object to beturned, without altering the degree of separation thereof.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral I0 indicates the crankhandle of an adjustable 55 wrench, which is provided with alongitudinally extending rack II, and a stationary jaw I2. A carriageI3, which is slidably mounted on the crank arm Ill, is provided with ascrew member I4 which engages the teeth of rack I I, and is utilized tomove the carriage I3 along the longitudinal 5 extent of the crank handleI0 to adjust the spread of the jaws I2 and I5.

y Adjacent the upper extremity of the carriage I3 and projectinglaterally from the opposite sides thereof are trunnions I6 and I 'I onwhich are piv- 10 otally mounted the parallel rearwardly extending earsI8 and I9 of the arcuately movable jaw I5. Slotted passages 20 and 2Iare provided within the body of the carriage I3, for the slidablemovement therein of the parallelly connected lugs 15 22 and 23 which maybe formed integral with the head 24 to which a releasing spring 25 isslidably connected by means of a screw 26. The spring which is rigidlyattached to the carriage I3 by a screw 2l, is provided with a slottedopen- 20 ing 28 which slidably engages the screw 26, to permit relativelongitudinal movement between the lug head 24 and the spring 25. Thespring 25 is adapted to retain the lugs 22 and 23 out of engagement withthe pivotally mounted jaw I5, so 25 that the latter may move out ofengagement with a nut or any object which is engaged by the jaws of thewrench. When the spring 25 is pressed inward toward the carriage I3 bythe thumb of the operator the lugs 22 and 23 force the arcuately 30movable jaw I5 into a position of engagement, as indicated by the solidoutline of the jaw as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The carriage I3, shown in Fig. 1, is provided with laterally extendingtrunnions I6 and Il for 35 the hingeable attachment of the jaw I5. In amodied form of carriage 29, shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the extending ears3U and 3| are drilled for the reception of a pin 32, which forms ahingeable mounting for an arcuately movable jaw 32, of similarconstruction to that illustrated in Fig. 1.

Another type of wrench on which the arcuately movable releasing jaw maybe used to great advantage is the ordinary type of non-adjustable handwrench, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. The wrench shown in theseillustrations comprises a crank handle 33 which is provided with astationary jaw 34 and a movable jaw 4I. The crank handle 33 is formedwith a transverse slotted 50 opening 35 to slidably accommodate amovable lug 36 which is retained in outward or disengaged position by aspring 31, rigidly attached to the lower portion of the handle 33 bymeans of the screw 38, the spring being provided with a slotted opening39 at its upper extremity for slidable engagement with the screw 40which connects it to the lug 36 in the same manner as spring 25, shownin Fig. 1.

The movable jaw 4I is pivotally mounted for arcuate movementl on a pin42. 'Ihis jaw 4l is moved into a position of engagement with a nut orbolt, and released therefrom by the slidable movement of the lug 36 in asimilar manner as explained with respect to the monkey wrench,illustrated in Figs. l, 2 and 3.

Although in the foregoing certain elements have been described as bestadapted to perform the functions allotted to them, nevertheless it is tobe understood that certain changes may be resorted to within the scopeof the appended claims, without departing from or sacrijcing any of theprinciples of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. A wrench including a stationary jaw and a crank arm, a carriageadjustable on the crank arm and provided with transversely extendingpassages, a jaw pivotally attached to the forward portion of thecarriage, said jaw being formed with a cam surface, camming andsupporting means associated with the carriage and coacting with themovable jaw, said means comprising parallel laterally spacedinterconnected lug members slidable within said passages and springmeans mounted on the rearward portion of said carriage and engaging saidlug members to normallyretain the latter in a retracted position, saidspring means functioning when depressed to extend the lug members intocamming and supporting relation with respect to said pivoted jaw andwhen released to return said lug members to their normal positions.

2. A wrench including a stationary jaw and a crank arm provided With atransversely extending passage, a jaw pivotally attached to the forwardportion of the crank arm, said jaw being formed with a cam surface,camming and supporting means associated with the crank arm and coactingwith the movable jaw, said means comprising a lug slidable within saidpassage and spring means mounted on the rearward portion of said crankarm and engaging said lug to normally retain the latter in a retractedposition, said spring means functioning when depressed to eX- tend thelug into camming and supporting relation with respect to said pivotedjaw and when released to return said lug to its normal position.

JOSEPH P. GENARD.

